No. 6 DU Gymnastics Places Third at NCAA Regional Final

Sunday, April 7

Berkeley, Calif.

6 p.m. MT

University of Denver

NCAA Regional Final

Photo by: Brittany Evans

No. 6 DU Gymnastics Places Third at NCAA Regional Final

4/7/2024 10:44:00 PM | Gymnastics

Results

Denver battles through the final competitor but narrowly misses spot at NCAA Nationals

BERKELEY, Calif. – The No. 6-ranked University of Denver women's gymnastics team battled through the final competitor but ultimately came up just short of advancing to the NCAA National Championships in Sunday's NCAA Regional Final.

DU placed third overall with a 197.450 and just .150 out of an advancing position in the meet, finishing behind No. 3-ranked California (198.275) and No. 19-ranked Stanford (197.575) but ahead of No. 22-ranked Arizona State (196.750).

SIGNIFICANT STATS

DU's 197.450 tied the third-highest postseason score and tied the second-highest NCAA Regionals score in program history.
- The team's 49.400 on bars became the third-highest NCAA Regionals score in DU history.
- On floor, the team's 49.450 tied the fourth-highest NCAA Regionals score in program history.
- DU's 49.375 on vault became the third-highest postseason score in program history and a Denver record in NCAA Regional competition.
Senior Jessica Hutchinson finished with a 39.600 in the all-around, matching the fifth-highest score by a DU gymnast at an NCAA Regional competition.
For fourth time in its 50 year history and for the first time since 2020, Denver did not count a fall all season long – including battling back from falls early in the lineup on three of the four events on Sunday.

BARS RECAP
DU began the meet by overcoming a fall in its second routine to count five scores at or above 9.850. The team bookended the lineup with 9.875s from seniors Rosie Casali and Rylie Mundell. Hutchinson and freshman Madison Ulrich had team-leading 9.900s – the freshman's coming in the routine immediately following the fall. Junior Mia Hebinck added a 9.850 in the fourth spot to round out the counting scores.

BEAM RECAP
Denver again was able to drop a fall during its beam rotation with five scores of at least 9.800 – highlighted by a third-consecutive 9.950 from senior Bella Mabanta in a postseason road meet. Junior Momoko Iwai led off the lineup with a 9.850, which senior Abbie Thompson followed up with a 9.800. For the second time in as many rotations, Ulrich delivered a hit routine immediately following a fall, earning a 9.825. Hutchinson anchored with a 9.800 to keep the fall from counting.

FLOOR RECAP
On floor, DU responded to a fall in the leadoff position to post five consecutive scores of 9.850+, starting with back-to-back 9.875s from Iwai and Casali. Mabanta followed with a 9.850, helping set up Denver's final two student-athletes for scores in the 9.900 range. Ulrich posted her ninth 9.9+ of the season while Hutchinson delivered a fourth-consecutive 9.950+ on floor to close out the year.

VAULT RECAP
Denver carried its fighting mentality into the final event with six hits for one of the strongest postseason vault rotations in program history, anchored by a stuck Yurchenko 1.5 from Hutchinson for a 9.950. Sophomore Mila Brusch got things started with a dynamic Yurchenko full and a 9.850, a score that Ulrich would later match. Hargraves, too, hit her powerful Yurchenko full for the first of two 9.825s in the lineup, the next from Casali with an improved vault over the NCAA Regional Second Round. Mundell nearly stuck her Yurchenko 1.5 for a season-high-tying 9.900.

TICKETS:
Season ticket deposits for the 2025 University of Denver gymnastics season are now on available and can be purchased online, by calling 303-871-4625 or by visiting the Ritchie Center Box Office.

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